Science and Education Publishing Physics and Materials Chemistry 2372-7101 4 1 2016 11 7 CVD Growth of ZrC Layers at Different Temperatures 6 9 EN BAB Alawad Department of Physics, University of Pretoria 0028, South Africa S Biira H Bissett JT Nel TT Hlatshwayo PL Crouse JB Malherbe PMC2016412 10.12691/pmc-4-1-2 2016 5 23 2016 9 3 2016 11 5 Zirconium carbide (ZrC) layers were grown on a graphite substrate by chemical vapour deposition (CVD) at 1250°C, 1300°C and 1350°C. Zirconium tetrachloride (ZrCl4), methane (CH4), hydrogen (H2) and argon (Ar) were used as precursors. The deposited ZrC layers were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). XDR showed ZrC characteristic peaks with free carbon. Free carbon incorporated in the ZrC layer increased with deposition temperature. The average of grain size also increased with deposition temperature. The latter findings were confirmed by SEM results.